You Have a Part to Play Too, Don't You?

Qian Xiaosheng looked a little embarrassed. He raised a hand to scratch the back of his head, his cheeks slightly flushed.

"Um... no need to thank me. We're classmates, after all."

"If you run into trouble again, come find me. I'll be there whenever you call!"

Jiang Zhu nodded gently.

After saying goodbye to each other, Jiang Zhu did not return to the dormitory.

She looked up at the sky. Dark clouds blanketed it, and the air was somewhat stifling. Clearly, a heavy downpour was on its way.

"In weather like this... he probably won't come out, right?"

She muttered to herself, but her feet seemed to have a mind of their own as they still carried her toward the familiar Xiachun Square.

When she arrived at the square, the familiar patch of grass was empty.

That figure who made her feel at ease was nowhere to be seen.

A tremendous sense of loss welled up in Jiang Zhu's heart, yet she did not leave.

Hugging her knees, she sat blankly on the grass, lost in thought.

By then, not only was the sky overcast, but a fine drizzle had begun to fall.

The raindrops struck her face, cool and chilly.

Yet Jiang Zhu neither sheltered herself nor moved. She simply sat there.

Shrek Academy.

Seeing this, Dai Mubai smiled. He had already seen through everything.

"Tut, tut, tut. See that?"

Pointing at the Heavenly Curtain, he began imparting his experience to Oscar and the others beside him.

"At times like this, girls are at their most vulnerable!"

"When they need someone by their side, that person isn't there."

"That's called an emotional void. It's when they're most likely to be taken advantage of!"

Oscar looked astonished, his eyes wide. "Really, Boss Dai?"

"Of course!"

Dai Mubai nodded confidently and flicked his golden hair.

"A hundred days of companionship can't compare to a sudden bit of care!"

"At a time like this, if you swing the hoe well enough, there's no corner you can't dig into!"

"Otherwise, how do you think I used to play with those wom—cough, how I built emotional connections with so many girls?"

As he spoke, he declared in the manner of a prophet, "Just watch!"

"Given this atmosphere, unless something unexpected happens, she'll be stolen away by that Qian Xiaosheng."

"That's the trick!"

Everyone silently watched the Heavenly Curtain.

The rain grew heavier and heavier.

Jiang Zhu was soaked through, her hair plastered to her face, making her look especially pitiful.

At that moment, a kind passerby called out, "Miss!"

"It's raining so hard. Hurry home! Don't let yourself get sick!"

Only then did Jiang Zhu come back to her senses.

She slowly got to her feet, her vacant gaze falling upon that spot, which remained empty.

Vague Man had not appeared.

Over at Shrek Academy, Dai Mubai's smile grew wider and wider, an evil grin creeping onto his lips.

"Just wait. Qian Xiaosheng might show up."

In the scene.

Jiang Zhu walked back in a daze, the rain washing over her cheeks. It was impossible to tell whether they were streaked with rain or tears.

Then, a familiar and gentle voice pierced through the curtain of rain and sounded beside her ear.

"Won't you wait for me a little longer?"

Jiang Zhu trembled all over and abruptly stopped.

Before she could turn around, she felt the rain above her head cease.

An oil-paper umbrella steadily sheltered her from above, isolating her from the cold rain.

Jiang Zhu lifted her head blankly. Only then did those watching the scene see clearly.

This girl's eyes had long since been reddened from crying. She had merely kept her head lowered, tightly pursing her lips to keep herself from making a sound.

Now, at the sight of Vague Man.

The resolve she had desperately held onto finally snapped.

"Wah..."

Jiang Zhu could no longer hold it in. All her grievances, pressure, and confusion erupted at that moment.

She threw herself into Vague Man's arms, clutching his lapels tightly with both hands as she burst into tears.

Vague Man held the umbrella with one hand while gently rubbing her soaked hair with the other.

A wave of warmth spread through Jiang Zhu's body, and her wet clothes dried in an instant.

He comforted her apologetically. "Sorry for making you wait so long."

"I went to deal with something just now and got delayed a little."

This scene—an umbrella held in the rain, a beauty in his arms.

It carried a warmth and peace that made one's heart tremble.

However, the scene did not remain there!

With a shift, it switched to another street.

Mu Xiaoyan was likewise standing in the rain, soaked from head to toe.

"Damn it! That stupid woman! I just can't stand her!"

"How dare she toy with me! I'm so pissed off!"

Her face was full of anger as her exquisite shoes stepped into puddles, curses still spilling from her mouth.

Clearly, something had happened to her just now, leaving her in an extremely foul mood.

Then, the scene shifted once more.

It showed a heartbreaking sight.

Beneath a large tree amid the rain.

The formerly high-spirited Qian Xiaosheng now stood there like a drenched rat, the umbrella in his hand having fallen to the ground.

His other hand still protected a beautifully wrapped box of cookies.

He stood in the rain, utterly panicked, his eyes wide open.

In the distance, beneath that oil-paper umbrella, Jiang Zhu was tightly hugging Vague Man and crying.

He could not hear what they were saying.

But he could see Jiang Zhu's complete dependence on him, as well as an intimacy she had never shown Qian Xiaosheng.

"Plop..."

It was the sound of the cookie box falling into the rainwater.

The scene gradually darkened.

At that moment, everyone watching, male and female alike, shared the same feeling.

It was as if they heard a crack—the crisp sound of a pure young boy's first love shattering.

It was too tragic.

Sea God Island.

After watching this scene, a faint sorrow rippled through Bo Saixi's calm eyes, which seemed to have seen through all the vicissitudes of the world.

She thought of the man who had once said he would not return until he became a god.

"Youth is wonderful..."

She had guarded Sea God Island for a hundred years. Even though her strength had reached its peak,

she had never experienced such a youthful scene of foolishly waiting for someone in the rain, only to finally throw herself into their arms.

Wasn't her own youth also an irreparable regret in life?

Spirit Hall.

Inside Pope's Palace, there was utter silence.

Bibi Dong appeared expressionless, noble and aloof.

Yet inside, she was already overwhelmed by bitter sorrow.

How could she not understand?

She understood this feeling of youth all too well—the feeling of going to see someone filled with joy, only to discover them holding someone else in their arms.

"Love that can never be attained..."

Bibi Dong sneered inwardly, unsure whether she was laughing at her former self or Qian Xiaosheng in the rain.

Spirit Hall's training ground.

The people who had been discussing things moments ago all fell silent.

Hu Liena and the others turned their six pairs of eyes in unison toward Qian Xiaosheng, who stood there.

Everyone's expression was complicated—some were sympathetic, some wanted to laugh but did not dare, and some held a trace of pity.

"Xiaosheng..."

As captain, Xie Yue opened his mouth, wanting to offer a few words of comfort, only to find that nothing seemed appropriate.

"I never expected you to have a part to play in the Heavenly Curtain too."

"It's just... this part is a little too tragic, isn't it?"

The other teammates chimed in to comfort him. "Exactly. Unrequited love is supposed to involve missing your chance. It's not like we aren't comforting you."

Yan, standing to one side, laughed rather shamelessly. "How can youth not leave behind regrets? I really feel sorry for you, hahahahaha!"

They were embracing in the rain, mutually in love. Why were you standing off to the side in the rain delivering cookies?

Yet Qian Xiaosheng himself was unusually calm.

Several years had passed. He was no longer the inexperienced youth he had once been.

He merely quietly watched his younger self on the Heavenly Curtain, watching that lost and despondent face.

But after hearing what his teammates said, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"You comforted me very well. Don't comfort me again next time."

Shrek Academy.

Ma Hongjun held back a laugh beside him. "Boss Dai... this script seems a little different from what you said?"

"Cough, cough... an accident."